The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) always appreciates the opportunity to share with the Ministry of Education our perspective and comments as the ministry develops its annual Grants for Student Needs (GSN). Education Funding is one of our Association’s multi-year strategic priorities and as such, OPSBA consulted with members extensively and sought their input in preparation for the 2017-18 submission.
Similar to previous years, OPSBA created its own survey to receive comments and feedback from senior business officials from our member boards. The questions posed included some from the ministry consultation guide but we also asked about local board pressures and specific funding lines. This feedback can be found in Appendix A.
In addition, OPSBA gathered feedback from regional meetings, senior OPSBA staff, trustee work teams, the Indigenous Trustees’ Council, community hub leads and funding related matters derived from member boards’ advocacy letters.
A consistent message delivered at each of our consultation opportunities was the following: school boards need more flexibility in order to balance their operating budgets and meet local needs.
To read our submission, please click here.
